Instagram

Recently I saw a couple of my Instagram posts go, what I would call, certifiably viral. Interestingly enough, it happened at a time where I was putting close to zero effort into running my account. Let’s take a look at the stats and then we’ll examine some reflections.

My account has approx 1300 followers so not exactly out of this world. A typical post will fair between 30-100 likes. So imagine my surprise when a post spins wildly out of control and reaches 1300 likes just completely out of the blue. And then just days later, another post hit over 2600 likes.

If you’ve ever used social media then you’ll be all too familiar with the sense of awesomeness that comes when you absolutely boss an Instagram post and the likes come flooding in. Maybe it’s just me but even the best of us find it hard to totally disconnect the appreciation and approval of others to the hardwiring of our soul.

It feels like everybody and their dog is hitting Instagram Live (as well Facebook and others of course) right now. I’m definitely in that category of people experimenting with this side of social media. It’s rare to peruse Instagram without several notifications popping up of friends and people seeking to best use their influence jumping on IG Live.

It's the ultimate question isn't it. Growing your Instagram following is akin to social status nowadays. And who doesn't want everyone to think they are awesome?

But as I've been unpacking and considering all things social media over the past few months, I've had some revelations that I think are worth sharing. Is it possible that we're asking the wrong question? It's not that growth is bad in itself, it's just that it feels like there is another more important question we should be considering first.

Why would we want to grow our social media following?